Bow-facing oar.



PATENTBD JUNE 12, 1906.

J. EETRGH & L. DULOVES. BOW PAGING OAR.

' MYLIGATI 0N FILED NOV. 16.1905.

3 SHEETS-*SHEET 1.

www0-ww l l bd' l f HOMLMJ PATENTED JUNE l2, 1906. J. PETRICH a L. DULOVES.

BOW FAOING OAR. APPLIUATION FILED Nov. 16, 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. 823,075. PATENTED JUNE l2, 1906.

J. PETRICH & L. DULOVBS.

BOW FACING OAR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.l6. 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 @Rc1/Mew I uNrTnn sTATEs PATENT ornron BOW-FACING OAR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 12, 1906.

Application filed November 16, 1905. Serial No. 287,633.

To a/ZZ whom it may concern.:

Be it known that we, JOHAN PETRICH and Louis DULovns, citizens of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bow-Facing Oars; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to improvements in bow-facing oars.

The object of the invention is to provide an oar and means for attaching the same to a boat whereby said oar may be operated by an occupant of the boat when facing the bow of the same.

Another object is to provide an oar of this character having means wherebyT the same is automatically turned or Jfeathered at the end of each stroke, and means for turning the oar back to its normal position when the same is brought to a position for beginning a new stroke.

A further object is to provide a locking mechanism for rigidly holding the oar in its normal or operative position during the stroke and means for releasing said locking mechanism at the end of the stroke to permit the oar to be turned or feathered.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1- is a top plan view of a boat provided with oars constructed and mounted in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a view of a portion of the gunwale of a boat, showing an enlarged plan view of one of the oars and the attaching and operating mechanism, said oar being shown in the position the same occupies when in the middle of the stroke. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the position of the oar at the end of the stroke. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view on the linea 4 of Fig. 2, showing the attaching and operating mechanism in side elevation. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken centrally through the oar and the attaching mechanism on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a similar view on the line 6 6 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 7 is a side view of a portion of one side of the boat with the hinged oar supporting and attaching plate swung upwardly to an upright position and showing the lower side of said plate.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 denotes a row-boat.

2 denotes the oars, which are suitably attached to the boat in proper positions for propelling the same. The boat may be provided with any number of oars, the same being here shown as being provided with but one pair. The oars 2 are attached to the boat by means of supporting-plates 3, which are hingedly connected at their inner edges to vertically-disposed plates 1, secured to the inner side of the gunwale of the boat. The hinge of the plate 3 is provided with a suitable spring 5, the tension of which is exerted to counterbalance the weight of the outwardly-projecting plate and oar-operating mechanism carried thereby, thus facilitating the raising and lowering of said plate and the oar. The oars 2 are detachably connected to the plates 3 adjacent to the outer edge of the same by means of a suitable connection 6. Said connection permits the oars to be swung in an arc of a circle and also to be turned or rocked to provide a feathering action for the oars. The upper portion of thev swiveled connection 6 is in the form of a hinged bailshaped hasp 7, the free end of which is provided with a slot or elongated aperture adapted to be engaged with a turn-button 8, which is pivotally attached to the lower portion of the connection.

On the inner end of the oars is secured a sleeve or thimble 9, from the inner end of which projects a stub-shaft 10, on which is journaled an antifriction -roller 12. The roller 12 is adapted to work in an upwardlyprojecting segmental guide-bracket 13, secured to the upper side of the plates 3, as shown. The sleeve or thimble 9 is provided with a pair of annular collars or iianges 14, between which and around the sleeve 9 is disposed a loosely-mounted strap 15. The ends of this strap are bent laterally to form ears 16, provided with alined apertures, by means of which is pivotally connected one end of an operatin -link 17, the opposite end of which is pivota ly connected to the outer end of an operating-lever 18. The operating-lever 18 is pivotally mounted upon an upwardly-projecting stud 19, secured to the plates 3 adj acent to the inner side of the same, said lever being held in place on the stud 19 by means of a pin 20, which is passed through a transverselydisposed aperture formed in said IOO IIO

stud. Near the outer end of the lever 18 and projecting downwardly therefrom is secured a lug 21, which passes through a segmental slot 22, formed in the plate 3.A On one side of the lug 21 are secured laterally-projecting arallel studs, on which are journaled antiriction-rollers 23. One of said rollers is disposed above and is adapted to bear upon the upper side of the plate 3, while the other roller is disposed below and bears upon the under side of said plate, thereby forming a supportin@r element for the outer end of the lever 18. n order that the oars will be automatically feathered at the end of each stroke and restored to a working position before the beginning of a new stroke, a suitable rocking or turning mechanism is provided. The feathering mechanism is here shown and preferably consists of a downwardly projecting segmental arm or blade 24, which projects through a segmental slot 25 formed in the plate 3. This arm 24 is secured at its upper end to a collar 26, which is in turn secured to the oar. On the under side of the plate 3, ad-

jacent to each end of the slot 25 and in the path of movement of the arm 24, are secured two downwardly projecting brackets, in which are journaled rollers 27 and 28. The roller 27 is so arranged that when the oar has reached the end of a stroke the arm 24 will be engaged therewith and turned rearwardly, thus rocking the oar or turning the blade thereof at an angle to the water, so that when the oar is returned or brought back for a new stroke the same will feather. When the oar has been brought back to the position for beginning a new stroke, the arm 24 will be engaged with the roller 28, which will force said arm back to its normal position, thus turning the oar to a proper working position.

In yorder that the oar may be held in a working position during a stroke, a suitable locking-pin 29 is provided, said pin having formed on its upper end a head 30, provided with a lateral projection having a downwardly-projecting lug 31. The pin 29 passes through the sleeve 9 and the oar and projects a slight distance below the same, while the lug 31 is adapted to normally project into a recess 32, formed in the strap 15, which passes around the inner end of the oar, as iereinbefore described. The pin 29 and the lug 31 are yieldingly forced downwardly, and the lug 31 is thereby held in engagement with the recess 32 by means of a spring 33, which is attached to the oar, as shown. Secured to the upper side of the plate 3, adjacent to the end of the slot 25 and in the path of movement of the lower projecting end of the pin 27, is an upwardly-curved arm or cam 34, with which the lower end of the pin 29 is engaged when the oar has reached the end of a strore. The engagement of the lower end of the pin with said cam 34 will force the pin upwardly against the tension of the spring `33, thus disengaging the lug 31 from the recess 32 and permitting the oar to be turned or feathered in the manner hereinbefore described. The pin 29 and the lug 31 will be held in an elevvated position during the return movement of the oar by reason of the engagement of the lug 31 with the strap 15 at one side of the recess 32 until the oar is again turned to its normal position by the engagement of the arm 24 with the roller 28, which movement of the oar will bring the lug 31 into alinement with the recess 32, into which the same will be again forced by the spring 33, thus locking the oar in position for a new stroke.

When not in use, the oars 2 and the supporting-plates 3 may be swung upwardly to a vertical position, as shown in Fig. 7, said upward movement of the plates being limited by means of a stop-lug 35, secured to the inner edge of the plates and adapted to engage the hinged plates 4 when the plates 3 have been brought to the proper upright position.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring amore extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction maybe resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent. is`

1. In a bow-facing oar, the combination with a hinged, spring-balanced, supportingplate, of an oar pivotally mounted on said plate, a segmental guide-bracket to receive and support the inner end of said oar, an operatinglever pivotally mounted on said plate, a link pivotally connected to the outer end of said lever, antifriction-rollers mounted on said lever, a strap loosely connecting the inner end of the oar with the opposite end of said link, means to feather said oar at the end of the stroke, and means to restore the same to an operative position when brought back for a new stroke, substantially as described.

2. In a bow-facing oar, the combination with a hinged, spring-balanced, supportingplate, of an oar pivotally mounted on said plate, a segmental uide-bracket, an antifriction-roller journa ed on the inner end of said oar and adapted to engage said guidebracket, an operating-lever pivotally mounted on said plate, antifriction-rollers mounted on said lever to engage said plate and support the outer end of the lever, a link connected to the lever, a strap loosely connecting the inner end of the oar with the opposite end of said link, stop-rollers arranged on the lower side of and at each end of a seg- IOO IIO

mental slot formed in said plate, and arockerarm secured to and projecting downwardly from said oar and through said slot, said arm being adapted to engage the stop-rollers at the end of said slot, thereby feathering said oar at the end of a stroke and restoring the same to a working position when returned for a new stroke, substantially as described.

3. In a bow-facing oar, the combination with a hinged spring-balanced, supportingplate, of an oar pivotally mounted on said plate, a segmental guide-bracket, an antifriction-roller journaled on the inner end of said oar and adapted to engage said guidebracket, an operating-lever pivotally mounted on said plate, antifriction-rollers mounted on said lever to engage said plate and support the outer end of the lever, a link connected to the lever, a strap loosely connecting the inner end of the oar with the opposite end of said link, stop-rollers arranged on the lower side of and at each end of a segmental slot formed in said plate, a rocker-arm secured to and projecting downwardly from the oar and through said slot, said arm being adapted to engage the stop-rollers at each end of said slot, thereby rocking and feathering the oar at the end of each stroke and restoring the same to a working position before the beginning of a new stroke, a locking mechanism to hold the oar in working position during a stroke, and means to automatically release said locking mechanism at the end of a stroke, substantially as described.

4. In a bow-facing oar, the combination with a hinged, spring-balanced, supportingplate, of an oar pivotally mounted on said plate, a segmental guide-bracket, an antifriction-roller ournaled on the inner end of said oar and adapted to engage said guidebracket, an operating-lever pivotally mounted on said plate, antifriction-rollers mounted on said lever to engage said plate and support the outer end of the lever, a link connected to the lever, a strap loosely connecting the inner end of theoar with the opposite end of said link, stop-rollers arranged on the lower side of and at each end of a segmental slot formed in said plate, a rocker-arm secured to and projecting downwardly from the oar and through said slot, said arm being adapted to engage the stop-rollers at each end of said slot, thereby rocking and feathering the oar at the end of each stroke and restoring the same to a working position before the beginning of a new stroke, a spring-projected pin slidably mounted in said oar and extending through and below the lower side of the same, a lateral downwardly-projecting lug formed on the upper end of said pin to normally engage a recess in the connectingstrap on said oar, and a cam arm or plate arranged in the path of movement of the lower end of said pin to raise the same and disengage said lug from said recess at the end of each stroke of the oar, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHAN PETRICI-I. LOUIS DULOVES.

I/Vitnesses WILLIAM T. MANNING, MARTIN N. KARR. 

